A MAJOR £10m project that will enable hundreds of trains a week to use the Port of Liverpool has been put forward by the Mersey Docks & Harbour Company.

The company says the schemes will enable millions of tonnes of cargo to be switched from road to rail, easing congestion on busy motorways.

The MDHC, which is being bought by Liverpool John Lennon Airport owner Peel Holdings, is in talks about four separate schemes to allow a major increase of freight to be transported by rail.

Frank Robotham, director of marketing for Mersey Docks, said last night: "We believe there are opportunities within our existing cargo profile for more cargo to switch to rail.

"For a comparatively modest sum of around £10m, there is the potential to take 100m tonne miles of truck movements off Britain's congested roads and put them on to rail.

"The Port of Liverpool which is already the largest cargo generating centre in the North West region, is looking at schemes costing a mere £10m, compared with the Port of Felixstowe which has had £40m of government funding for rail development. The Government is also considering a £50m investment in rail facilities at the Port of Southampton to improve rail links into the Midlands and the North.

"Liverpool handles more non-oil traffic than either of these ports. Cargo moved by rail has increased by nearly a million tonnes a year in the last five years. This modest investment we are proposing will stimulate further transfer of cargo from road to rail and will take thousands more truck movements off the roads."

Current capacity constraints are 21 trains a day accessing the northern docks area at Seaforth and Kirkdale.

Mr Robotham said that developing a short link rail at Edge Hill, known as the Olive Mount Cord, would allow the port to increase the number of trains to 50 a day.

"But we believe there are opportunities within our existing cargo profile for even more trade to switch to rail. Further traffic would be stimulated by improvements to the rail infrastructure such as work on some stretches of existing track to accommodate larger containers," he added.

Another scheme would see a rail link into Canada Dock, initially achieved not by developing a link from the existing route serving the north docks, but by utilising the existing Sandhills connection. It would mean the re-opening of a series of tunnels, still within the control of the rail authority, giving access to the Canada Dock area.

The success of the proposed rail improvements will depend on European assistance, and comes as Merseyside is on the verge of learning whether its Objective 1 programme will be extended.

The current wave of Euro funding ends next year and talks about a third slice of cash, to enable regeneration work to be scaled down gradually, are at a crucial stage.

Support for more Brussels cash aid was given last week by European commissioner Danuta Hubner in a meeting with Liverpool city councillor Flo Clucas, Sefton chief executive Graham Heywood and Cllr Dave Quail of Trafford, chairman of the North West Regional Assembly

Cllr Clucas said: "I am confident there is a willingness in Brussels to help us, and I am sure we will receive funding to continue when Objective 1 comes to an end. What we are waiting to hear is how much we will receive and how it will be processed, either through Brussels or London."

As well as the improved rail freight links, she says cash could be found for:

A riverside berth to enable the world's largest container ships use the Mersey.

The next big expansion of Liverpool John Lennon Airport to take transatlantic and other long haul flights.

Riverside MP Louise Ellman said: "I will continue to work through the Government to ensure that Liverpool and Merseyside continues to receive funding. Objective 1 was always going to be long term and we are now seeing the benefits. We want to continue to do the work for the benefit of our city."